Banana Ball is coming back to Covenant Health Park next summer, with games on Friday, June 4, and Saturday, June 5, 2027. If you want a shot at tickets, though, the date that matters is much sooner: the ticket lottery closes Saturday, October 31, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
The Knoxville games were announced October 15 as part of Banana Ball’s 2027 schedule, which stretches across 75 cities. This time the Texas Tailgaters will face the Indianapolis Clowns. The Savannah Bananas, the league’s best-known team, aren’t scheduled to play in Knoxville.
It’s a quick return. Banana Ball made its East Tennessee debut last May, and more than 100,000 fans filled Neyland Stadium for one of those games.
How the ticket lottery works
Banana Ball doesn’t put tickets on general sale. Instead, you join the lottery list at BananaBall.com and pick the Knoxville date you want. After the list closes, entries are drawn at random, and the people selected can buy up to five tickets. Entering doesn’t guarantee you’ll get any.
Because the drawing is random, there’s no prize for being first. Entering today gives you the same odds as entering on October 30. What counts is getting in before the deadline.
Don’t expect an answer right away. On past tours, the drawing for each game happened about two months before game day. If that pattern holds, Knoxville entrants would hear back around early April, though Banana Ball hasn’t confirmed its 2027 timing.
Since the lottery is the official way in, be wary of anyone offering Knoxville tickets on social media before the drawings happen.
What you’d be watching
If you’ve never seen a game, Banana Ball is baseball rebuilt for entertainment. Games have a two-hour time limit, a fan who catches a foul ball records an out, and teams win by points rather than total runs. Add choreographed dances and trick plays, and the whole night plays more like a show than a typical nine innings.
The Tailgaters arrive as the defending Banana Ball Championship League champions. The Clowns joined the league this year as a revival of the Negro Leagues team of the same name.
If you don’t get tickets
Both Knoxville games will stream on YouTube, according to WATE. Game times haven’t been announced yet.
Middle Tennessee fans have another chance later in the year. The 2027 season wraps up with the Banana Bowl championship at the new Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Saturday, September 25, 2027. It’s a separate game with its own ticket process.
